General gaming

General gaming

OP-ED: Activision Has a Point When Defending Itself Against Claims It Doesn't Innovate

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 06:47 PM PST

Skylanders

Between DICE taking place last week and Tim Schafer successfully turning to Kickstarter to fund a Double Fine-developed graphic adventure, there has been a lot of talk recently about the role publishers serve in the videogame industry. There is the belief among many people that publishers do little more than stifle innovation, a suggestion Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg takes issue with.

During a panel at DICE, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter made the case that today's publishing model isn't good for for the industry. Publishers are opposed to risks and many shy away from bringing out games unlikely to sell millions of units, he said, also adding, "We are getting fewer choices as consumers because financial guys are taking over. Financial guys are making the decisions."

God of War Creator Calls Story Driven Games a Waste of Time and Money

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 03:59 PM PST

When I first downloaded God of War creator David Jaffe's PSN game, Calling All Cars, I didn't quit playing until my thumbs literally grew too sore to continue. The game borrowed heavily from NBA Jam despite its cops & robbers aesthetic, and like that arcade classic, my friends and I fought down to the wire in every round. Though Jaffe has in the past referred to the game as a "mistake," I would place it above the original God of War as my favorite game of his. I know it seems strange to value a forgotten PSN downloadable title above one of the best PS2 games of all time, but I've come to a point where I prefer experiences that don't aspire to tell a grand story, and I'm thankful that game creators like Jaffe feel the same way.

Jaffe explained his feelings to other game makers in a presentation recorded by Gamespot at last week's DICE summit, "My talk is actually a warning about why we shouldn't tell stories with our video games. I think it's a bad idea. I think it's a waste of resources and time and money and more importantly I think it actually stunts, and has stunted over the last ten years or so, the medium of video games."

1UP Community Feature: Highlight Reel

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 03:38 PM PST

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1UP Community Feature: Highlight Reel

The 1UP Community discusses next-gen consoles and blogs all day every day.

By: J. Kartje February 13, 2012

Things are getting busy here at 1UP now that the game releases are picking up again. With titles like Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Soulcalibur V, and Darkness II, we've been knee deep in reviews. And with the Vita on the horizon, things won't be slowing down anytime soon.

BLOGGIN'


Here are some of the recent blogs that caught our eye that you might have missed here on 1UP.

Marketing Vita a Different, But Equally Challenging Task to Advertising 3DS

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 02:12 PM PST

Vita marketing

With the PlayStation Vita launching in just over a week, one might have expected the amount of advertising for it to have been greater than what we've seen in recent weeks, but that will soon chance. With Sony in a pretty rough situation financially, we know the handheld getting off to a strong start would be a major boon for the company. That's likely part of the reason why Sony is making the marketing campaign for Vita its largest ever for a videogame system. And although Sony does not face all of the same problems as Nintendo did in marketing the 3DS at launch, it does undeniably have a challenge ahead.

You may have noticed the flood of Vita-related content both here at 1UP and elsewhere today. With the embargo lifted we've got a detailed breakdown of the system itself, a review of Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and a look at many of Vita's other launch day games, with more to come as the week continues. While Sony can be sure all of this will get Vita on the minds of many gamers (for better or worse), it will not necessarily reach as broad of an audience as Sony would like. That's where ad dollars come into play.

Posted by Shri Krishna

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